You are here

Mysteries in History

In June 1985 the museum opened Mysteries in History, an exhibit devoted to the exploration of history. To help visitors understand not only what happened at various points in the past, but how and why it happened, who was involved, and the consequences, the gallery was set up as a series of “now” and “then” sections.

Visitors could take a stroll back in time in the Mysteries in History gallery from 1985 to 2006.

Each “now” section emphasized a modern method for finding out about the past, with each method yielding a piece of an historical puzzle. Assembling the clues led to reasonable conclusions about the past. The “then” sections of the gallery were historical reconstructions of scene’s from Indiana’s past based on evidence uncovered in the “now” sections.

For example, one now/then pairing took visitors from a 1980s attic to a mid-19th-century homestead, and another used old photographs and architectural details to introduce an turn-of-the-20th-century Indianapolis street.

Mysteries in History contained several life-size recreations of structures from Indiana’s past that visitors could explore, which were extremely popular. The turn-of-the-century Indianapolis street scene—which featured a print shop, a bakery storefront, and Danner’s Clothing Emporium—was a favorite, as was the frontier trading post and the homestead, which included the museum’s 1830s log cabin.

The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis

Founded in 1925, The Children's Museum of Indianapolis is a nonprofit institution committed to creating extraordinary family learning experiences that have the power to transform the lives of children and families. With a 472,900 square-foot facility situated on 29 acres, it is the largest children’s museum in the world. Visitors can explore the physical and natural sciences, history, world cultures, the arts, see how dinosaurs lived 65 million years ago in Dinosphere: Now You're in Their World®, experience Dale Chihuly's Fireworks of Glass, and examine children's impact in shaping history inThe Power of Children: Making a Difference.